


Family is unexpected

by lighteningboltfanatic



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Italian Food, M/M, Mentioned Booker | Sebastien le Livre, attachment to swords
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25582978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lighteningboltfanatic/pseuds/lighteningboltfanatic
Summary: Nile meets an unexpected member of the Old Guard Family in Norway.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache & Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Joe | Yusuf al-Kaysani & Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Nile Freeman & Team
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	Family is unexpected

Nile is sitting in front of the tv, watching reruns of America's Got Talent while Nicky cooks, Joe draws Nicky cooking from next to her on the couch and Andy just rolls her eyes from the table, sharpening her axe. 

She thinks Joe hears it first, his head lifting up just seconds before hers as they hear the door open and she instinctively grabs her gun, cocked and aimed at the hallway just as the intruder comes into view. 

She shoots before she can stop herself but he easily dodges, sword coming out of nowhere and everyone’s suddenly standing and in the living room. 

"Mio Dio! La gente può smettere di spararmi?!" He yells in what she thinks is Italian but it's much more complex than the few simple words the team has taught her. She's about to shoot him again and hopefully not miss this time when Joe quickly grabs the gun from her hand, Nicky crossing the room in that time to yank the freakishly tall man down into a tight hug for several moments, muttering in his ear in a language and volume she doesn't quite catch or understand. 

Joe and Andy guide her to the kitchen as the two men finish hugging. 

"I'm assuming you know him?" They both laugh, nodding just as Nicky comes running in, stirring the sauce as it makes a sparking noise. The man comes in, sitting on the floor instead of at the table, sword still tight in his grip but he doesn't look like he's going to use it, or at least she hopes not as she lays the gun in front of her at the table. 

He extends a long hand, a small yet tired smile on his face. "You're the new girl, Nile," it isn't a question, "I'm Faust." He says it like that's supposed to explain everything. It definitely doesn't. She nods slowly and shakes his hand, pulling away rather fast which earns her a laugh from him as she looks to her two friends. 

"Perché non vai a farti una doccia, Faust?" Nicky says something in Italian, Nile guesses it's about getting cleaned up because he nods as he stands, hand still wrapped around his sword as he walks toward the bathroom. 

Nile waits impatiently for anyone to say anything and out of nowhere, Joe begins laughing. Andy levels him with a look despite the smirk on her face and Nile can't see his face but she can hear the soft chuckles coming from Nicky as he stirs the sauce. 

"Sorry, sorry. I just can't believe you shot at him and he didn't stab you." She stares, obviously missing something. 

Andy must take pity on her because she finally starts explaining, "Faust is a guy we met about 8 years ago. Despite being mortal, he became a part of the family," That definitely doesn't answer every question but it had answered the glaring one if he was immortal like then. "Why does he have a sword?" Her mind goes back to the sword, the huge sword that fit his skinny yet fit frame but definitely not his mountainous height. Andy chuckles, something akin to proudness pouring off of her, "He was raised with a sword in his hand. He learned to swing a sword before he could form full sentences. I would advise against trying to touch it," Nile wants to ask more, a hundred more questions but Faust is walking back in looking cleaner if not more tired. 

His skin is lightly tanned, just sun-kissed which contrasts greatly against the deep purple bruises under both eyes, signalling towards the lack of sleep if not for the tired smile he gives. He's wearing a black pullover and no longer the leather jacket he had been wearing earlier, the hood, however, covers most of the dark hair that doesn't sit wet in his forehead. The sleeves of his pullover are pushed up, showcasing scars and bruises. He's tall, equal part legs and torso from what she can see but the pants don't quite fit him, a good few inches between the bottom of his pants and his combat boots. 

He leans the sword against the wall before he sits down next to it. Nile almost offers her chair but Andy simply shakes her head so instead, she sighs as Faust and Nicky and occasionally Joe engage in a conversation she can't understand. 

She does catch "Booker" though. 

"Booker?" They all look at her and Faust nods, face completely blank besides the small smile pulling at it. "Si. I visited him on my way here." She nods slowly, hoping he continues as Nicky sets plates in front of everyone, plates of beautiful pasta. 

One thing she's come to know in the past few months by Nicky's assistance, traditional Italian pasta is nothing like what she grew up on. 

"He's drunk off his ass, but he’ll be alright." She nods and they all begin eating in comfortable silence, well everyone else does, but she doesn't know this kid at all. 

He must notice because he stares at her the entire time. 

"We met eight years ago," he begins, standing up to wash his dish but groans slightly when he hits his head on the ceiling. "If I remember correctly, I cut off your arm and your leg." He points at Andy and then Nicky who both laugh, Andy throwing her fork at him. Nile can only gape as Joe chuckles at her face, "Yeah, do not underestimate him. You do it once and then there's a sword through your abdomen and you have no hand." Faust barks out a laugh from where he stands at the sink and Nile notices his hands clenching and unclenching when he stops doing the dishes like something is missing from them. Nile only gapes at them all, "You...you're saying he impaled you? And he's still alive?" Faust settles back on the floor with a chuckle as the rest laugh too. "Life's more complicated than that," Nicky says cryptically as the giant jumps up to his knees, his hand suddenly tight around his sword and Nile tenses. 

"You wanna spar, Joe?" Joe laughs and nod, the two leaving down the hall to what Nile's guessing is to go to the basement. 

"What really is the story with him?" Nile turns her head back as she asks but both of her teammates shake their heads, Andy already walking away and joining the two in the basement, the distant hitting of swords echoing through the air. "That's a story only he can tell you," Nicky says with a soft smile, gesturing with his head to the basement. 

The minute Nile makes it to the basement, she makes a note to never have to fight this kid. She's seen skilled fighters, hell, she's on a team with probably some of the most skilled fighters the world has or will ever see. But this kid comes extremely close if not tied right up there with them. 

Him and the sword move as if they are one, movements elegant and smooth as if this is a dance. He even gets the upper hand on Joe several times, the blade of the sword at his neck. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't mesmerized. 

"Your height isn't fair," Joe groans and Faust laughs as the two walk over, Joe setting his sword down to pull Nicky into a kiss but it's almost as if Faust is attached to his, still not letting it go as he laughs at a comment Andy made. 

"No, no. Va tutto bene, Andy." She groans softly and everyone looks over at her, "I really gotta learn Italian." Faust laughs with a small smile, "I said that It's all fine," he translates and she wonders what "it" is but realizes as he pushes up the stairs, she isn't going to get answers to most of her questions. 

  
  


////////////////////////////////

  
  


Nile's the last to wake as usual and it feels almost like a routine therein. 

When she walks into the kitchen, Nicky is cooking something that smells delicious while Joe draws him and Andy reads the paper. It’s familiar and quickly becoming her new normal. 

Faust, however, is nowhere to be found so for a moment she wonders if he's left but Andy notices her looking around as she pushes a cup of coffee towards the young immortal, "Phone call." It’s simple and blunt but she’s gotten used to it enough to just nod.    
“What are you making, Nicky?” She asks when Nicky and Joe take a pause in their conversation. Nicky turns his head to her, a small smile on his face. “Sfogliatelle. And Joe is supposed to be cutting up fruit.” Joe rolls his eyes and tosses his pencil gently at Nicky’s back. Nicky only laughs, sitting down next to Joe while the, what Nile assumes is an Italian pastry, bakes. “How long have you guys even been awake?” Nile asks with her eyebrows raised because from the little bit Nile knows about pastries, they take quite a while to make.

Nicky chuckles, “A while. Faust doesn’t sleep very long, neither does she.” Nicky gestures to Andy who only shrugs just as Faust walks in and of course, he’s holding his sword tightly in his hand and a tired expression on his face as he collapses against the wall.    
“Are you alright?” He looks at her when she asks, only nodding. 

“I’m fine. The Russian mafia is a pain in my ass.” She gapes at him as she hears Andy snicker to her right, both Nicky and Joe chuckling. “You have the Russian mafia on speed dial?” He shrugs nonchalantly, eyes suddenly widening as a large grin takes over his face, “Do I smell Sfogliatelle?” Nicky laughs and he’s nodding when she turns to look at him, “Figured that you would like it.” The tall man only grins in response as Nicky kicks Joe under the table, the man grunting despite the smile on his face as he moves to begin cutting up the fruit.    
“So you’re Italian?” Nile asks, turning back towards Faust who nods. “Yeah, I was born in Catania,” At Nile’s confused look he continues, “It’s in Southern Italy, near Sicily. Genoa’s in North Italy.” Nile recalls that Nicky was born in Genoa, albeit a long time ago. “Do you live there?” He barks out a laugh but shakes his head, pushing himself off the ground as he begins making another pot of coffee. “I don’t live anywhere,” He ends with a shrug, chugging back half on the coffee as the oven dings and he quickly moves out of the way to let the older Italian pull out the pastries, albeit slamming his head into the ceiling and cursing in what sounds like several different languages in the process. “Why the hell did you get the house with the lowest ceilings? Fanculo!” All of them laugh as he bends down slightly until he’s practically on his knees. “You know, I’m 6’0,” And if looks could kill, Joe would definitely be dead. “Alright, alright. You can argue about your heights later, Nile makes a note to buy an Italian dictionary. Nicky passes out the Sfogliatelle and Nile would be lying if she said it didn’t smell or look absolutely amazing.    
When she glances up, she realizes that they’re all staring intensely at her, even Andy and Faust who has moved in between Joe and Nicky, on his knees yet still at the perfect height for the table.    
“It can’t be that good, can it?” 

“I’m gonna act like you didn’t say that.”    
She rolls her eyes at the two Italian’s as she takes a bite and immediately swallows her own words because it’s fucking delicious, melts in her mouth like butter and she moans slightly, sinking down in the chair. When she opens her eyes again, everyone is digging in, Joe and Faust having a conversation between bites in a mix of languages. She only catches the English bits, “Very bloody...pineapples...staples.” Nile realizes that if Faust stays here, he’s going to leave her confused more often then not.

  
  


///////////////////////////////

  
  


Nile isn’t sure why she wakes up at first until she hears it again, the sound of clinking metal.

She slowly leaves her room, following the noise she had heard to the kitchen where she sees Faust, asleep on the kitchen floor, his left arm stretched out with a very large knife in his hand, the noise coming from where it had tapped against the metal chairs.    
She walks over to wake him up but is promptly scared out of her skin when she’s still a foot away, “I really wouldn’t do that.” She turns around quickly, sighing in relief when she only sees Nicky who only gives her a small smile. “He won’t hesitate in cutting your feet off if you wake him up whilst he’s holding a knife,” Nicky says whilst stepping over the body that covers the entire entrance to the kitchen. Nile wonders if he’s taller than 7’.    
“Can I ask you something, Nicky?” Nicky looks over as he begins brewing coffee and she wonders how much money they spend on buying coffee beans (because she was lectured several times over several days that beans are much better than anything else despite the fact that she still doesn’t understand the difference between buying already ground beans and just beans) alone. 

“How exactly we became his family?” He gestures to the younger man on the ground and she nods, stepping over him to sit in a chair by the fridge. He passes her a cup of piping hot coffee before sitting down with his own, sighing for a moment. 

“We met him in Milan while trying to save a group of Italian sisters from ex-Mafia members,” He pauses with a chuckle before continuing, “He was homeless then, although I guess in a different way he still is. All he had was his clothes, his knife and that sword,” He gestures to the sword he’s been basically connected to, it’s right behind his head against the wall, just within arms reach. “We had gotten the girls and were just staying in Milan for a day or two when Booker and I were pickpocketed. Honestly, if he hadn’t of stolen my wallet and Booker’s flask, we probably wouldn’t have even noticed,” He chuckles, eyes trained on the man on the floor, “But we did and we all were able to find him but he was extremely fast and skilled. Never underestimate someone, even if they are young.” He says, eyes serious yet still bathed in a caring-softness. “Of course we came back to life, and we were more than a little surprised when we saw that an eight-year-old had effortlessly killed four immortals with a sword that was as big as him.” They both chuckle a little and she shifts as she sips her coffee, his hands resting around the mug, eyes staring deep into the dark abyss. 

“Over the years we saw him more and more, scattered around Europe mostly, occasionally North and South America. He even helped us out more than once and he became family,” He smiles fondly and she isn’t sure what to say so she says nothing, the two sitting in silence and not long after Joe comes out, silently pouring himself a cup of coffee and just leaning against the counter because apparently, it’s an unspoken rule not to wake Faust up although Nile thinks maybe that’s because they’ve learned from past mistakes.    
Closer to dawn Nicky throws an orange at the boy, hitting him square in the abs and he promptly jumps up like a ninja, nearly stabbing Nicky in the face with his knife, eyes wide for a moment as he gains perception of his surroundings. 

Nile feels tense but relaxes slightly when neither Nicky nor Joe look at all nervous or tense in any way. Joe only passes him a cup of coffee and Faust slowly relaxes, sitting against the wall.    
Nile realizes there’s way more to Faust then meets the eye, he definitely isn’t just “some” kid. 

  
  


////////////////////////////////

  
  


Nile walks outside to get some fresh air, surrounded by open fields and woods but in the distance, she can see Faust sitting under a tree, his eyes closed and hand clasped tightly around his sword, just like normal. She begins to walk towards him, remembering Nicky’s warning from the other night before getting too close.    
“Hey, Faust.” She calls softly, watching as he jerks for a moment, his eyes slowly opening, a small smile taking over when he sees her. 

“Hey Nile.” She smiles back, gesturing next to him in a silent ask to sit down, to which he nods, setting the sword down next to him but he keeps his hand on it, clearly hesitant to let it go.    
They sit in silence for a few moments and she realizes she didn’t really have anything to say but she’s come to like his presence over the past week. 

“I was born to a pair of assassin-hitmen, and they raised me as such.” He shocks her slightly as he begins talking, taking a slow breath with his eyes trained on the sword, “I could swing a sword before I could even form full sentences. I never wanted to hurt anyone but I didn’t know anything else, you know? I only knew my sword.” She nods silently, not wanting to interrupt him in any way. “I was left homeless when I was seven. They got greedy and tried to take down the Italian mafia,” He barks out a laugh, lifting the sword into his lap, “The rest is history,” He gestures to the house with his free hand, “I met them and eventually started working kind of as a mercenary, sort of. I help people who need someone,” She feels the need to point out, “And deal with the Russian mafia.” He barks out a laugh, nodding slowly, “Yeah, that too.” It goes silent after that, the only sound being the nature around them and to be honest, she’d be more than happy to consider Faust family. 

  
  


//////////////////////////////////////////

  


  
Faust leaves on a Friday, leaving Norway for Russia, to deal with the Russian mafia of course.    
He gets killed on a Monday, way more armed men hiding in the corners and the basement than he had originally thought because apparently as much as he’s usually underestimated, he underestimated the mafia. Funny that.    
He took three bullets to the head, two to each leg and nine throughout his torso. 

He woke up after midnight on Tuesday. 

**Author's Note:**

> Mio Dio! La gente può smettere di spararmi?! = My god. Can people stop shooting at me?
> 
> Perché non vai a farti una doccia, Faust? = Why don't you take a shower, Faust
> 
> Fanculo! = fuck
> 
> Ragazzi = boys
> 
> If you guys really like this I might do a second part, possibly.


End file.
